Tobina Riko

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tobina Riko. Let's get along."

- Riko's self-introduction

Riko Tobina is one of the current candidates for AKB0048's 155th generation draft. She is also known under the online moniker Shirata Asuka, under which she is famous within anime and cosplay cirlces for her ability to cosplay both female and male characters equally well.

Appearance
Riko is rather tall, has fiery red eyes, and dark purple hair with hime-cut bangs. When let down, her hair does usually reach her shoulder blades, but she tends to tie it up - especially when she is working. She normally wear clothing in subdued colours.

Personality
Riko is very brash, and isn't one to sugarcoat anything, as she feels it is counterintuitive, but she has a heart of gold. She is dedicated, and doesn't like quitting when something isn't done; she is a bit of a perfectionist, and as such she's very reliable if she sets her mind to do something. Carrying over from her online persona, she does also appear to have troubles speaking about personal things, such as her past or her innermost thoughts.

Skills
As she has been doing cosplay for several years, Riko has developed several skills. She is an apt seamstress due to having sown her own costumes for several years, and is also good at handling hair from having worked with wigs so long as well. Another two skills she has developed is make-up. She is skillful at altering her own face using makeup to look more like the character she is trying to portray, as well as acting, both when it comes to altering her own voice to whatever extent is possible, and actual acting.

She is also good at making instant decisions.

History
Riko has lived on Akibastar all her life, and for the most part, has enjoyed it. She was teased a lot when she was younger, due to her being taller than most her peers. She was very insecure about this fact when she was younger, to the point where she once didn't want to leave her room because of it. She had always been interested in theater, but in the amateur productions she joined, she was never picked for the roles she wanted to do, partly due to her height.

This did, however, change a couple months after she turned 12, and through a friend and her like for anime, discovered cosplay. She wasn't all that into it to start, because she didn't feel confident she could pull off the female characters; because as a girl, she had to be a girl, right? Her friend, who wanted to cosplay with her, suggested that she'd try to cosplay a male character, and with some backing from other, more experienced, cosplayers, Riko went with her friend to her first anime convention dressed up as Kaito from Vocaloid, and she fell in love with cosplay instantly.

A few years went by with her going to conventions and getting better at what she loved, and then she eventually chose to start a social media account under the name "Shirata Asuka", which slowly grew more and more.

Riko's family was supportive of Riko doing what she wanted, but were firm that she should keep her real life and Shirata Asuna separate, something she agreed with, and has done.

Etymology
Tobina is written in Kanji. is the kanji used in the verb for "to fly". means "Crow".

Riko is writen in Kanji. means "Reason". means "Child".

Her online Moniker, Shirata Asuka is a name she came up with in order to keep her actual name a secret. Shirata means "White Field", and Asuka  is a unisex name meaning Flying Bird. Notably the 飛 is the same as in her surname.

Quotes
Hint: Hover over the quotes.
 * "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tobina Riko. Let's get along." - Riko's self-introduction

Achievements
Riko has yet to participate in the Senbatsu Sousenkyo Riko has yet to participate in the Jyanken Taikai Riko has yet to participate in the Lucky Ranking
 * -|Senbatsu Sousenkyo=
 * -|Jyanken Taikai=
 * -|Lucky Ranking=

Career
Nothing yet
 * -|Acting=

Trivia

 * Her reaction time is lower than that of the average 18-year-old.
 * Is famous online for being able to cosplay male characters very well.
 * There are debates going on among fans of her whether or not Shirata Asuka is male or female, as the name is unisex, and she has never spoken out about it.
 * One such character she is known for is Vocaloid's Kaito.
 * She never uses her real name online.
 * She is terrified of bugs.
 * She has big reactions when she isn't actively trying to subdue them.
 * She loves arcade games.
 * Preferably retro games, but she doesn't mind the newer games either.